Eternal Darkness and Desolation
by thisissparta789789
Summary: Greed, despair, hate, loneliness, bleakness, desperation, perversion, pressure, depression, sadness, hopelessness, murder, death, and fear. All are things you will find and see in here. Do not say I did not warn you. Due to mature subject matter, reader discretion is advised. Currently incomplete.
1. Part 1: Ocean of Hopelessness

Homura thought to herself as she led Madoka to the nurse's office, "Now that I'm the dominant one in this universe, I can manipulate Madoka and her friends to my advantage."

Then, suddenly, as they rounded a corner, Madoka collapsed. Immediately, Homura picked her up and ran to the nurse's office, yelling, "Madoka just collapsed! I need help!" When she got to the office, she immediately laid her out on a bed. "She just fell!"

The nurse got up and said, "Okay, I'm gonna call the fire department and get an ambulance. Stay here and watch her!"

_**THE NEXT DAY**_

Madoka had suffered a heart attack due to a weak heart. By now, she was still unconscious. Beside her bed were some flowers Sayaka, Mami, and Kyoko had bought for her. Homura bought her own flowers as well.

Homura sat down beside Madoka, watching her. She said to herself, "So this is what it must be." As the time went by, Homura began to feel restless. She also felt her body temperature rising. "What... What's going on?" It then hit her. Homura then blushed intensely as she paused time. She then opened up Madoka's shirt and undid her bra. "What's wrong with me?" She then slid her skirt and underwear off.

About 15 minutes later, Homura's left hand moved away from her crotch area, covered in a liquid. She then put her underwear and skirt back on and said, "I'm so fucked up. God, I'm so fucked up." She then walked her hands, cleaned the area where she sat, and redid Madoka's bra and shirt before resuming time, leaving no indication that she had just masturbated to an unconscious Madoka.

At the same time she un-paused time, Madoka's mother walked in, making Homura shiver, realizing she had done it while Junko was right outside the door to the room. She said, "Hello, Akemi-san. Thanks for watching over my daughter for me."

"Don't mention it," Homura said as she freaked out in the back of her mind. "Doooon't mention it, Junko-san."

_**THE NEXT DAY**_

Kyoko, Mami, Sayaka, and Nagisa were on their bi-weekly witch patrol in the city. They all communicated by radio so that other Puella Magi couldn't snoop in on telepathic communications. Kyoko radioed, "Hey guys, I found a barrier. I'll go telepathic inside if I need assistance. For now, I'll be off the air."

Kyoko then walked into the barrier. She transformed and looked around. "Aha!" She then brought out her spear and attacked 2 familiars, easily destroying them. After killing them, she said, "This will be easy. I just gotta kill this witch and I'll get my grief seed."

She then jumped into the air and shouted, "Grammatically Correct Fantasma Rosso!" 5 clones of her suddenly appeared and also attacked, stabbing and slashing the witch. Finally, the witch collapsed, and from the bloody mess emerged a grief seed that Kyoko quickly grabbed to cleanse her soul gem.

As she left the barrier, she radioed, "The witch has been taken care of. I'll be in service." She then noticed a figure dressed in black nearby, looking at her.

"I've been waiting for you," the figure said.

"Wait," Kyoko said. "Are you-?"

Suddenly, the figure a appeared from behind her and said, "Yes, I am." They then brandished a long knife and started cutting into Kyoko's throat and neck, spilling blood all over the place. When the knife was in halfway through, they grabbed Kyoko's soul gem and smashed it as her eyes and mouth shot wide open. After some more slices, Kyoko's head was finally off.

The figure pushed away Kyoko's headless body and held her head from her red hair. The figure then disappeared without a trace.

_**SEVERAL HOURS LATER**_

After Mami and Nagisa walked out of a witch's barrier from a successful battle, they decided to radio Kyoko. "Mami to Sakura-san," Mami said.

Sayaka replied over the radio. "I've been calling Kyoko-chan, but I can't get to her."

"Alright then," Mami replied. "Maybe she's outta range. She's probably over at a restaurant."

Sayaka laughed and said, "Of course. No offense to her or anything, but she seems to be the kind of person to do that."

As Mami and Nagisa walked back home, Nagisa began to feel as if she and Mami were being watched. Then, they both heard footsteps behind them. Nagisa turned around and screamed. Mami then looked to see what happened.

On the ground before them was Kyoko's decapitated head, eyes and mouth still wide open, left on the ground by an unseen person who had followed them. Mami said, "No... No fucking way... Holy fucking shit..." She then ran to a garbage can and threw up extensively as Nagisa held Kyoko's head, tears falling from her eyes and sobs echoing through the area.

"Kyoko-oneesama... No... You can't be dead... Kyoko-oneesama..."

Mami then walked over and said, "Momoe-san, drop her head."

Nagisa ignored her as she continued to weep.

"I SAID FUCKING DROP IT!" She then pushed Nagisa to the side. After taking several deep breaths, she said, "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to do that... Oh God..." She then hugged the still-crying Nagisa as tears fell from her yellow eyes. "Sakura-san... Saku-... Kyoko... Kyoko... Why... Why would someone kill you like this?" As the 2 girls embraced and grieved for their friend, a police car showed up.

_**MEANWHILE**_

Sayaka was walking home when she was stopped by a police officer who said, "Is your name Miki Sayaka?"

"Yes, officer. Why?"

"I need to talk to you about something that happened to a person named Sakura Kyoko."

"What?! What happened to Kyoko-chan?"

"I'm sorry, but she's dead. We found her body and decapitated head."

Sayaka shook in shock and sadness. "No... No... No no no no no no..." She then fell to her knees and cried as the officer patted her back in sympathy.

_**THE NEXT DAY**_

Only Madoka and Homura went to school. Sayaka, Mami, and Nagisa were at home, still in shock at Kyoko's murder.

Madoka said to Homura, "Thank you for being there for me at the hospital, Akemi-san."

Homura replied, "You're welcome."

"It's sad that one of our classmates got murdered in cold blood."

"I know. I hope they catch the guy who did it and hang him."

At that moment, Ms. Saotome walked in. She said, "I have prepared sheets to help you deal with what happened to Kyoko right here. If you want to talk to someone, I am available, and so is the guidance counselors. I, myself, have had a rough time with what happened to Kyoko. She may not have been the best student academically, but she was a funny person. I will miss her a lot, as will the rest of you. Anyway, let's get on with the class."

_**MEANWHILE**_

Sayaka was sitting in a bathtub filled with water, naked and seemingly unaware of her surroundings. She had spent at least 3 hours in it. Her father was out on business, so she had the whole day to herself, as usual.

Sayaka said to herself, "The water's red. Looks like my period's the only thing that affects me anymore."

* * *

_Sayaka: Age 10_

A young and cheery Sayaka was running to her parent's room. She had just gotten a 100 on a recent test. "Mommy, I got a 100 for once! I did great!" At the time, her father was at a store running errands.

Sayaka ran up to the door of the room and opened it, saying, "Mommy, look what I got!" She then looked at her mom and said, "Mommy? What... Why aren't you answering me?! Mommy?! Wake up! Get down from there!" Mommy!"

Her mother was hanging off the end of a rope. She had tied it around her neck and used it to hang herself. She also had cuts on her arms and wrists, and a pool of blood had formed below her from the wounds.

* * *

Along Sayaka's arms were cuts. She said to herself, "No one cares about me anymore. No one does. No one likes me. Not my mom, not my dad, not my friends, no one."

At that time, she heard a knock on the door to her house. "Sayaka-chan?" It was Kyoysuke. "Are you there? Sayaka? Are you okay?"

By now Kyousuke was getting worried. He began knocking harder. After giving up, he decided to try the back doors. To his surprise, they were open and unlocked. He took his shoes off and went upstairs. "Sayaka-chan? Are you up here?" He then opened the bathroom door and found her. "S-Sayaka! Oh my God!"

Sayaka said, "Oh. You found me."

Kyousuke immediately ran over and picked her up from the bathtub. As he ran her downstairs to the living room, he noticed a trickle of blood coming down her leg. He then grabbed a towel and wrapped Sayaka around it. "Sayaka, what's wrong?!"

Sayaka remained silent.

"Tell me, please! Sayaka, tell me!"

Still silent.

"TELL ME, DAMN IT!"

"Nobody cares about me. I am nothing. I have always been nothing. I don't mean anything to anyone."

"Don't say that! Please, don't say that! I care about you, Miki Sayaka! You're not just my best friend! You're more than a best friend to me! Please, don't ever say that!" He then grabbed his cellphone and called 119.

_**LATER THAT EVENING**_

Kazuko Saotome had a rough day, dealing with Kyoko's murder, and Sayaka's near-suicide, which she hadn't told any of the students about yet. She was ready to go to bed. But before going to bed, she decided to call her friend, Madoka's mom Junko. "Hey there, Junko. How's it going?"

"Meh. Not too well. Madoka's really upset over what happened to Kyoko."

"I know. I am too. Who would do that to her? Why? She was such a sweet young girl with her whole life ahead of her. I'm telling you, this world is getting crazier by the day."

Then, suddenly, the figure appeared again, this time in Kazuko's room. They said, "It sure is getting crazier."

Kazuko said, "Hold up, Junko." She then turned around. "Who the hell are you?"

The figure said, "Your demise."

"Wait," Kazuko said. "You're-" She was then cut off by the figure shooting her in the head with a stolen .50 calibre Desert Eagle, splattering Kazuko's head, blood, and brains all over the room.

Junko said over the phone, "Kazuko?! Kazuko?! Who's there?!" Then, the figure shot the phone too. Then, they disappeared.


	2. Part 2: Fragile Souls

The day after Sayaka's incident, she had gone to school, but had a long sleeved shirt covering the many cuts on her arms. She said to Madoka that morning, "Thank you for being there at the hospital. I'm gonna go back to the hospital after school today to talk with a psychiatrist."

"Good," said Madoka. "I'm glad you got help."

Then, Sayaka noticed several police officers standing outside of their home room. She asked, "Hello, officer. What's going on?"

The officer looked at her with dread in his eyes. "Your teacher's dead."

A female officer then said, "Mishimoto-san! What the hell is wrong with you?! Don't be so blunt like that!" She then turned to the girls. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Sayaka immediately hugged the female officer and began crying. Madoka said, "What?! No way! That's impossible!"

* * *

The group, sans Kyoko and Homura, who had not shown up at school, apparently due to a sickness, met at lunch. Mami said, "This is weird. Too weird. First Kyoko died, and now Saotome-sensei died. Whoever is doing this is sick. They need to catch the person or persons who are doing this before someone else dies."

Sayaka said, "It doesn't feel right without Saotome-sensei and her stories of her relationships. They were pretty funny." The rest of the group laughed.

Then, Kyousuke and Hitomi walked over. Kyousuke said, "Hey guys. How's it going?"

"Shitty," Mami replied. "We're obviously upset over Saotome-sensei."

Hitomi said, "I know. I'm really gonna miss her."

Madoka replied, "We all will."

* * *

That night, Homura had a dream. She found herself in a plains-like setting. There was no wind, and there appeared to be nothing in sight for miles. Homura said, "Where the hell am I?"

Then, a voice called out to her, "Homura-chan..."

"Madoka?! Where are you?!"

"Up here!"

Homura then looked up. Then, her expression turned from one of confusion to one of complete and utter horror. "No... No!"

Madoka's mutilated and dismembered body hung above her, while her head, which appeared to be almost split in half and smiling, said, "How's it going, Homura?"

Homura threw up onto the ground, and then screamed and screamed and screamed for what seemed like hours.

Then, she woke up. In the real world, she was sweating profusely and was breathing rapidly. She said to herself, "Oh my God... No way... Ugh... It's not real, Homura, it's not real..." She then noticed vomit next to her, indicating she had thrown up in real life too.

Homura quickly got a wet towel and cleaned up the vomit. She then took her clothes off and stepped into her shower. After turning the water on, she saw Kyubey walk in and say, "Your brain activity went off the charts just minutes ago."

Homura then covered herself up before realizing that Kyubey probably didn't care about nudity. She then said, "I had a nightmare. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wish to contract the girl known as Madoka. She has a lot of potential."

"Forget it, asshole. You won't go anywhere near her."

"Why must you make things so complicated, Akemi Homura?"

"Because fuck you. Get out."

"Okay then. As you wish, no pun intended."

"Make another joke like that and I'll kill you."

"And I'll respawn." Kyubey then disappeared.

After the shower, Homura changed into new pajamas and went to bed.

* * *

The next day at school, Homura came back. Madoka said to her when she saw her, "Homura-chan! You're back!"

"I am, Madoka," said Homura. "I heard about Saotome-sensei, and I was very sad."

"We all are. She was a good teacher. My mom was interviewed by police because Saotome-sensei was murdered while she was talking to my mom."

"Ouch. That had to be tough."

"It was. She was crying most of yesterday and today. They knew each other for a long time."

* * *

At the classroom, a substitute teacher taught the class. Sayaka telepathically said to Homura and Madoka, "This guy sucks."

"I know," Madoka replied. "Even Saotome-sensei would fall asleep from this substitute."

"Hey guys," Homura telepathically said, "What was the math homework?"

"I think we had to answer 10 questions from page 87 of the textbook," Sayaka replied.

"Shit! I forgot! Ohhhh fuck, this is bad!"

Then, another voice joined in. "Watch your language at school, Akemi-san!"

"Mami-san?" Sayaka looked confused. "Is that you?"

"Yeah. I'm in the classroom above you. And Homura, you're beginning to sound like Sakura-san with that mouth of yours."

Sayaka replied, "Hey! Don't speak ill of the dead!" She then paused. "Then again, that is entirely true."

* * *

Later that evening, Mami and Nagisa went witch-hunting alone. Nagisa said to Mami, "Mami-oneesama, it's too quiet."

"I know," the blonde-haired girl replied. "I've been itching to kill a witch ever since the 'incident' and yet nothing has turned up at all."

"Hey look!" The young magical girl then pointed to an opening to a witch barrier. "We can go there!"

"Finally, some action." The 2 magical girls them transformed. "Let's go, Nagisa."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hitomi was leaving the bathroom in her house when she heard footsteps in her room. She said, "Who's in there?"

No reply.

Hitomi then decided to open the door. To her surprise, the room was empty. "Must be my imagination."

"No it wasn't, Shizuki Hitomi."

* * *

An hour later, Mr. Shizuki said, "Well, looks like Hitomi's taking a long time getting ready for dinner. Hey honey, can you go check on her if she's alright?"

"Yes, dear." Mrs. Shizuki, on the outside, seemed to be a loving wife who would never think of doing things considered immoral. However, for the past few months, she had been seeing a younger man. Hitomi knew of this, but was afraid to speak out.

* * *

_2 months earlier_

Hitomi was walking up the stairs in her house when she heard noises from her parents' room. She was puzzled because her father was away on a business trip.

Then, she opened the door and gasped. Her mother was having full-on sex with another guy.

"Hitomi! What are you-?"

"Oh fuck no!"

Hitomi backed away and said, "Mom? What's... Who's... Why?" Hitomi then ran into the bathroom and locked the door. She then opened up the toilet, hugged it, and threw up. After heaving 5 times, she began crying.

"Hitomi, I need to talk to you! Open this door!"

* * *

Mrs. Shizuki said, "Hitomi? Are you okay?"

Nothing.

She then opened the door.

She found that a window was open and a rope was tied to something outside. It looked like something was hanging outside of the window.

She looked up first and found that the rope was tied to an exhaust pipe sticking outward. She then looked down.

Below her was her daughter's body, having been hanged. The 8 foot drop had instantly broken Hitomi's neck and killed her, similar to how hangings were conducted in executions in Japan.

Mrs. Shizuki could only scream and call for her husband, who immediately ran up to see what happened. "Oh my God! Hitomi, no! Oh God no!"

* * *

_5 days later_

Hitomi's funeral was bleak and dreary. It had been raining all day, and the clouds covered the sky. Sitting near the front row were Sayaka, Kyousuke, Madoka, Homura, Mami, and Nagisa. Kyousuke was comforting a weeping Sayaka, while Homura hugged Madoka, who cried silently, remembering the fun times she and Sayaka had with her.

Homura knew that this was eerily similar to Sayaka's own funeral in each timeline she appeared. It was always rainy and dreary outside, every time.

After the funeral, Mami was interviewed by a reporter. The following is a recount of said interview:

**REPORTER: **Please state your name.

**MAMI: **Tomoe Mami.

**REPORTER: **How did you know Hitomi?

**MAMI: **She was a close friend of one of my friends. We generally got along good. Had she not died, we would have probably become good friends.

**REPORTER: **In recent days, there have been a string of murders involving people that went to Hitomi's school. Do you think this could be connected?

**MAMI: **Maybe. I personally knew the first victim, Sakura Kyoko. If the coroner's office comes back and says Hitomi's death wasn't suicide, then I have reason to believe she was murdered by the same guy who killed Sakura Kyoko and Saotome Kazuko, my old teacher.

**REPORTER: **Was Hitomi ever depressed or indicated that anything was wrong?

**MAMI: ** isn't the type of person who would be depressed. Who knows? I don't know much about her personal life, but my other friends do. They would know if something was up. So far, they haven't told me anything was wrong.

**REPORTER: **Thank you for talking to us. Once again, I'm very sorry about your loss.

**MAMI: **You're welcome. And thank you.

* * *

Later that evening, Mami's interview was broadcast on the TV. Up until now, this was a small local news story. Now that a third person had died, and since that person was the child of a relatively well-off family, it began to gain traction across Japan.

Madoka said to her mother after dinner, "Remember what Mami said on TV? If what she said about a serial killer is true, who do you think is next?"

"It wouldn't be a serial killer," Junko replied. "It would be a spree killer, since these deaths are all in quick succession. And second, I'd rather not think about that. Let's hope they catch this guy before he can even think of a next victim, if it really is just one guy doing all of this."

* * *

School was canceled for a whole 2 weeks due to the killings. Thus, Madoka and her friends spent most of their time hanging out and talking amongst themselves.

2 days after Hitomi's funeral, Sayaka went over to Kyosuke's house. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened in the past 2 weeks.

She walked up to his house door and ringed the doorbell. Kyousuke opened it and said, "Hey Sayaka-chan, come on in! My parents aren't home right now because of business stuff."

"Good," the bluenette replied. "I need to talk to you."

"Go ahead." The grey-haired boy then sat down on a couch.

"These past 2 weeks have REALLY been rough. First I lost Kyoko-chan, then Saotome-sensei, and now Hitomi-chan."

"Tell me about it."

"Kyousuke, you don't understand. I liked Kyoko. As in, like like. And... I guess I liked you too..."

Kyousuke blushed. "You did?"

"I did. Then Kyoko got in the picture, and I started going after her, and I think she liked me too, but now she's gone, and we're here, and things are just so complicated, and it's... Ugh..." She then began to cry. "It's really, really hard to deal with this. Why would someone take Kyoko or Saotome-sensei or Hitomi away?! They did nothing wrong!"

Kyousuke then got up and hugged Sayaka, as well as giving her a kiss on her cheek. "It's been tough for all of us. I had my own love triangle between you and Hitomi. I spent many nights wondering who was the better one, who was more caring, who was the better friend. I then realised that that didn't matter. I thought I had managed to bury my feelings away. But I couldn't."

"You really mean that?"

"I do."

Sayaka then put her hands around him and dragged his face towards her. She then gave him a long kiss on the lips, something that was considered extraordinarily intimate in Japan. After 15 seconds, she suddenly pulled away and said, "Oh no! That was bad!"

"No it wasn't. That was the best, and so far only, kiss of my life. I want to do that again with you." Kyousuke then kissed her. Again, their lips met for a long time.

After they pulled away, Sayaka confessed, "Kyousuke, I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Several minutes later, Mami and Nagisa were doing another witch patrol to get their minds off of the funeral when they noticed a girl with what appeared to be a large sphere. Mami said, "Hello?! Who are you?!"

The girl turned around and said, "Are you a magical girl?"

"Yeah? Why?"

Suddenly, the other girl threw the sphere at them. Mami and Nagisa ducked and transformed. Mami then fired muskets at the magical girl, while Nagisa used her trumpet to fire explosive bubbles. As the smoke cleared, Nagisa said, "She couldn't have survived that!"

Then, another sphere came charging at them. The sphere-throwing girl was joined by another girl with large and curved claws, who said, "I'd like to introduce ourselves. I'm Kure Kirika, and this is my best friend Mikuni Oriko."

Mami yelled, "Whoever the hell you are, you're going down!" She then turned to Nagisa. "Call Sayaka for help!"

* * *

Back at Kyousuke's house, Sayaka and Kyousuke had just finished a round of sex. Kyousuke said, "My God, that felt good."

"Tell me about it," Sayaka replied. Then, her cellphone rang. She picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Sayaka-chan," Nagisa yelled. "Me and Mami-oneesama need help! We're near the fountain and we're being attacked by 2 other magical girls!"

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as possible. I just gotta get dressed." She then hung up. "Kyousuke-kun, I gotta go. A friend needs help."

As Sayaka got dressed, Kyousuke said, "Can I come?"

"I'd rather you not," she replied. "But, I guess I might as well reveal my secret." She then transformed.

Kyousuke gasped and said, "Oh my God! Sayaka, you look gorgeous!"

"Alright, I get it. Let's go! I'll explain as we get to the fountain!"

* * *

As Sayaka and Kyousuke ran to the fountain park, Sayaka began explaining what a magical girl was to Kyousuke. "I made a contract with a guy named Kyubey and became a magical girl. You see, I have to fight witches, and sometimes, other magical girls. 2 of my friends, Momoe Nagisa and Tomoe Mami, are both magical girls. Looks like they got attacked in an ambush by 2 others."

"Wow! That's amazing! By the way, do all magical girls have outfits like yours?" Kyousuke was running just behind Sayaka.

"Not as revealing as mine, but still as weird. By the way, when you make a contract, you also make a wish."

"Really? What did you wish for?"

"Your hands to be healed, of course!"

"Really?! Looks like you really would do anything for me!"

"I would!"

"Same here!"

"Anyway, we're gonna be getting there soon. Just don't do anything to get yourself killed!"

"Got it!"

Mami shouted, "Miki-san! Over here! Now!"

Sayaka then spawned a sword and charged at Oriko and Kirika. Oriko said, "What the hell?!" Then, Sayaka's sword proceeded to lob off Oriko's right arm.

Everyone looked in shock, even Sayaka, as Kirika screamed, "Oriko-chan! Oh my God!" She then slashed Sayaka's arm with one of her claws, resulting in Sayaka screaming in pain. Mami replied by firing off a musket at Kirika, which she quickly dodged.

"Sayaka!" Kyousuke then ran to her before Mami held her hand out in front of him.

"She'll be fine."

"But she-"

"She can heal her injuries. It's one of her powers."

Meanwhile, Oriko said, "You bitch! You chopped my arm off! Don't you know what the fate of the magical girl is?!"

"'The fate of the magical girl?' I don't give a shit about fate! When you attack my friends, I will kill you!" Sayaka then slashed at Oriko's chest, creating a long and diagonal gash on her body and ripping up her outfit.

Nagisa then fired off more explosive bubbles, filling the air with smoke and blocking everyone's vision. "Whoops. That was a bad idea..." She then picked up a musket Mami had dropped. She calmly reached into her pocket, grabbed a musket ball, and then poured powder into the musket with a gunpowder container. She then dropped the musket ball in and used a ramrod to push the ball and powder in. She then put some flint in, cocked the gun, and aimed it at Kirika.

She then pulled the trigger and shot Kirika in her soul gem, killing her instantly.

Mami gasped. "Nagisa, you shot her!"

Oriko and Sayaka briefly paused to watch Kirika's body fall to the ground. Oriko screamed, "Nooooooo!"

Then, Sayaka said, "Join your friend!" She then killed Oriko by slashing and breaking her soul gem, ending the battle.

Kyousuke said, "Woah! No way! That did not just happen!"

Sayaka ran over to him and said, "Are you afraid of me? Please, don't be."

"Of course I'm not. It's clear you acted to defend yourself and your friends. I would have killed them too if I was in your shoes."

Mami said, "You must be that violin boy Miki-san keeps talking about."

"Guilty as charged," Kyousuke replied.

Then, Mami noticed that Nagisa was crying. "Momoe-san, what's wrong?"

Nagisa then got up, reverted to her regular clothes, ran to a trash can, and threw up.

"Momoe-san!"

"Mami-oneesama... I killed her... I killed her..."

Mami sighed to herself, "Oh boy, here we go with the killing part." She then said, "Look, Momoe-san, I'm gonna be blunt with you here: You may end up having to kill someone in this line of work. I've done it in the past. Sure, even if it's fully justified, it can do a number to your mental health, knowing you killed someone's loved one. But you also must know that you had no other choice. None of us did. They attacked first without provocation."

Nagisa wiped her mouth and turned around. "I don't like killing people, though."

"I don't either. Yet I've done it before, but only because it was either that or I would have been murdered. And it wasn't just rogue magical girls. I once had to kill a guy who tried to force himself on me in an alleyway. I shot and injured another person who was robbing a store and stabbing the clerk to death. It's a miracle I wasn't killed. Look, you just gotta move on from those times and keep a straight face, because this line of work is rewarding but also dangerous."

Kyousuke said, "So this is your life, huh?"

"Not really," Sayaka replied. "That was actually the first time I ever fought another magical girl. We usually only fight witches and familiars, who are these monsters that usually live in their own dimensions called barriers. The witches control the familiars. If a witch dies, a familiar may break out and escape into the real world, and it may turn into a witch as well. They're very dangerous because some of them attack humans and give them witch kisses to make them kill themselves."

"That sounds like some crazy shit, Sayaka-chan."

"It is."

* * *

_The next day_

The team made a cover story for Oriko and Kirika's deaths, saying that the 2 had been found dead of an apparent suicide by asphyxiation. To make things more believeable, Mami reluctantly put bags around their heads while wearing gloves after covering them with their fingerprints. She then called the police to report the bodies anonymously.

At school the next day, the team did not say a word about the battle last night, not wanting to raise suspicion in light of the recent murders.

"So," Madoka said. "You and Kamijou-kun are now dating, I heard."

"Indeed," Sayaka said. "The dude of my dreams is now in my grasp!" She then laughed. "Say, Madoka-chan, Mami-san, Homura-chan, have you 3 ever dated?"

"I have," Mami replied. "I even lost my virginity to a guy a year ago. We broke up about 2 months ago. I've dated that guy plus 1 other guy and a girl."

Madoka said, "Wow! Mami-san, you've had sex?! What was it like?"

"It was fun. I'm glad I lost it to someone I liked rather than to some one-night stand. Guys, I want all of you to wait until you're in a relationship to even consider asking your partner to have sex. I don't care how old you are, as long as you aren't dating some dude or gal who's like 20-something, because that's illegal. Also, for God's sake, I don't want any of you getting pregnant or an STD."

Sayaka laughed and said, "Pregnant? STD? Nah! We wouldn't be stupid enough to not use protection of some sort!" She then laughed somewhat uneasily, knowing that she was lying. Neither she or Kyousuke had used any birth control or STD protection the night before.

Homura then said, "I've never even dated anyone."

Madoka said, "That's surprising. You seem rather attractive to the guys and even the girls here."

"I don't wanna get myself caught up in that stuff anyway," Homura replied. "At least, not for now."

"As for me," Madoka replied. "I once dated a cute guy at my old school. We broke up because he was moving to Hokkaido at the same time I moved here."

Homura immediately honed in on what Madoka said. "Do you still like him?"

"I guess. It was kinda hard having to let him go. He promised that he would visit me soon."

Homura immediately felt a sense of jealousy. "Have you two ever...?"

"No! We never did THAT, Homura-chan." Madoka laughed. "And by the way, I guess I also like girls too. Looks like we have a whole table of bisexuals."

Everyone laughed. Homura thought, _"This is both good and bad news..."_

* * *

_3 days later_

Madoka's old boyfriend, a boy named Kichirou, was visiting. He knocked on the door to the Kaname residence and said, "Hello there, Kaname-san. Is Madoka-chan here?"

"Hey there, Kichirou-kun," Junko replied. "It's been so long since I've seen you! Yes, she's here." She then turned to the stairs inside. "Madoka! Kichirou is here!"

Madoka ran downstairs and hugged Kichirou, saying, "It's been so long!" He blushed. "Come on in! Come on in!"

Tomohisa said, "Kichirou-kun! You're back! How's Hokkaido?'

"It's colder, but life is pretty good up there. You guys should go up with me sometime."

* * *

Kichirou was staying at a relative's house for 3 days. He still had feelings for Madoka, but had no idea of Madoka had moved on from him.

As Madoka showed him her room, he said, "Hey Madoka-chan, can I talk to you for a second? Close the door."

After closing the door, she said, "Go ahead."

Unbeknownst to them, a shadow was watching from outside the house. They sat there, staring in contempt at what was going on. As the conversation dragged on, the shadow wondered what was going on.

Back in the room, Kichirou said, "So, to conclude, I still like you, Madoka. I've dreamt of you ever since you left your old house. I want to be able to be together with you, no matter what the distances are."

"I agree," Madoka replied. "Kichirou, I have very strong feelings for you." She then took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm about to do this..." She then quickly wrapped a hard around the back of his neck, pulled him in, and kissed him.

The shadow gasped. Kichirou said, "Madoka... You... You kissed me... That was my first kiss..."

"I love you, Kichirou!" Madoka then gasped herself and covered her mouth.

"I love you too, Kaname Madoka." He then returned the kiss. "I gotta go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Later that night, Kichirou was sleeping when he heard footsteps in his room. He opened his eyes and gasped. A figure was standing in his room holding a can and a lighter. It said, "Goodnight indeed, Kichirou..."

"Who the fuck are you?!"

The figure then poured a substance around his bed. He thought of running, but those thoughts were quickly doused when the figure said, "If you run, I will stab you to death."

"What are you gonna do to me?"

The figure did not reply as it then lit up the lighter and dropped it into the liquid substance. "By the way, I just poured gasoline all over your bed. Goodbye, Abe Kichirou."

* * *

Madoka dreamt of Kichirou that night. She was on an island with him, relaxing in the sun. As the 2 continued talking in the dream, they began to get more and more romantic. Ultimately, the 2 undressed and were about to have sex in the dream when suddenly, Madoka woke up to Junko shaking her. "Madoka! Wake up!"

"Huh? Mom, what's wrong?"

"Something bad happened. I don't know how to break this to you, but... Madoka... I'm so sorry..." Junko then got up and walked out to go cry.

Tomohisa said, "Madoka... There was a fire at Kichirou's house... His aunt and uncle made it out... But... Kichirou..."

Madoka began to choke up as she said, "No... No... He can't be..." She then collapsed into her father's arms as she sobbed and wept. "He can't be dead... He can't be..." Suddenly, Madoka began to feel chest pains again. "Agh... It hurts..."

Tomohisa said, "Alright, honey, calm down. We're gonna go to the hospital, alright? Come on. Let's go." He then turned to Junko. "Honey, we're going to the hospital."

"Alright..." Junko wiped her face with a napkin as she put on a coat and went outside to start the car up.

* * *

At the hospital, Sayaka, Kyousuke, Mami, and Nagisa all accompanied Madoka, having rushed to the hospital after hearing what had happened.

There, Madoka continued to cry. Sayaka hugged her and said, "Let it all out, Madoka-chan... Let it all out..."

"He... He told me he l-... Lo-... Loved me..." After crying some more, she continued, "I... I loved him too... We ha- Had so much go- Going for us... And now it... It's all gone!"

Then, Homura ran into the room. She said, "I came as soon as I heard what happened!"

Sayaka said, "Thanks for being here. Madoka really needs the support. You know, I'm starting to like you, though I did find you initially creepy with how you treated Madoka when she first moved here."

"Well I'm no- Wait... When **she **first moved here? But... I moved here..." Her face turned from worry to confusion.

"Uhhh... No you didn't... I've known you for years, Homura. You were that quiet girl always sitting in the back."

"Wait... Does Madoka have a heart condition?"

"Yeah... You should know that by now..."

"Oh no... This is bad... This is very, very bad... Guys, I'm gonna need to explain a few things to you..."

* * *

"Wait," Mami said. "Let me get this straight. You're Homura, but you come from Homura in a different timeline?"

"Yes. The reason I'm a magical girl is because in the first timeline, Madoka was one and protected me. After she was KIA, I made a contract with Kyubey to do a groundhog day loop to save Madoka. I've done this 74 times. I'm from the very last timeline, when Madoka ascended to a different plane and became a goddess." Homura intentionally withheld the whole "witches are old magical girls" thing to not cause further confusion and stress. "For some reason, I split from my current self in this universe. My current self is a maniac. She brought Madoka down to the level of human again and destroyed everything she had built up with her wish to end suffering."

"What? Homura-chan, this makes no fucking sense..." Sayaka wasn't even angry, just more confused.

"Who has she killed in this universe?"

Madoka gasped, "Killed?! She killed someone?!"

"Yes. She is responsible for killing Kyoko, Saotome-sensei, Hitomi, and Kichirou."

At the same time, the other Homura walked in, saying "Hey Madoka, I'm he-"

Mami said, "You bitch!"

The 'good' Homura turned around and said, "I consider it an insult that you share my existence, asshole." She then pulled out a submachine gun. "I'm gonna give you to the count of 5 to leave this timeline permanently, or I will do it for you. 1... 2... 3..."

Madoka then struggled to get up from the hospital bed, dressed only in a hospital gown.

"4... 5..."

Madoka then grabbed the SMG and fired it at the 'bad' Homura, who dodged the bullets using her time stopping powers. "You heartless bastard... You killed my friends... You killed my teacher... You killed the boy I loved... And I'm gonna kill you!" Tears streamed down her face as she screamed in anger.

As 2 attendants streamed into the room, bad Homura shot both of them dead. She then stormed out and held the help desk on the 3rd floor at gunpoint. She then announced over the INTERCOM, "This hospital is under new management."

The group immediately ran out of the room while being fired at by bad Homura. Madoka's parents joined them as Junko yelled, "What the hell is Homura doing?! And why are there 2 Homuras?!"

"It's complicated," exclaimed the good Homura. The group then barricaded themselves in an empty operating room. "Okay, guys, we need a plan." She then turned to Madoka's parents and her little brother. "You 3, stay in here at all times. I don't want you guys getting hurt. Anyway, we need to get this Homura before she goes apeshit. And trust me, that is a VERY bad things."

When the firing stopped, the bad Homura said over the INTERCOM, "Everyone, do not move. If you do not resist, you will not be hurt. Carry on with your patients unless you are on the 3rd floor. If you are on the 3rd floor, I ask you to leave to other floors so that you won't be hurt by stray bullets. That is all." She then said to herself, "I guess I'll have to get Madoka under my wing the hard way..."

As the team discussed amongst themselves, Mami said, "Guys, if we die here, I have a confession to make. I loved Kyoko. After she died, I was pretty well shaken up, and... I began drinking... One night, I caught Nagisa drinking as well."

"Mami-oneesama," Nagisa said. "Are you sure you want to reveal this?"

"I might as well in case I die. I wanna die without having to keep my secrets in."

* * *

"Nagisa... What are you doing?!"

"Mami-oneesama!" The young girl quickly put the bottle away. "Uhh... I was..."

"Ugh.. It's fine... Forget it... Just, let me have some too, please."

After several minutes of drinking, Nagisa said, "I feel funny."

"It's called drunkenness, kid. I shouldn't have let you do this." By now, Mami was drunk as well.

"Hey... Mami... You're gonna think this is crazy... But... I'm, like, totally in love with you."

"Really? I'm not surprised. You are 12, right?"

"Yes, I did. I'm too young to be doing this shit."

"Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard you swear. Ever." Mami looked surprised at Nagisa's language.

"You're 15, right?"

"That I am."

"Well, I probably shouldn't be doing this, but.." Nagisa then licked her lips.

"Huh?"

Then, Nagisa gave Mami a kiss. While she closed her eyes, Mami's eyes remained wide open in shock. "There ya go, Mami."

"What the hell? Did you just kiss me?"

"I did. I just freaking did. Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed."

2 minutes later, Mami went up to go to bed too. When she opened the door, she said, "Nagisa, what the hell are you wearing?"

"I just put on some of your clothes, that's all. Your bra really doesn't fit me, man. I mean, you got... huge... boobs, and I'm flat as a board."

"You're fucking 12, Nagisa. Of course you'd be flat as a board. God... This drinking thing needs to stop before I do something stupid with you. And shouldn't you be in your own room?"

"I don't care, Mami. Besides, if I wasn't jailbait, you'd be having hot lesbian sex with me or something by now."

"How do you even... I don't wanna know where you got that from... If you're trying to seduce me, it won't work. I don't fuck kids."

"You're a kid! You're not an adult! Plus, you slept with your ex-boyfriend last year when he was 16 and you were 14. And we're both 2 years apart just like you 2 were."

"That was different, Nagisa! We were both way more mature than you. I'll have you know that I still had a large chest back then."

"I bet your ex loved that." Nagisa then laughed.

"God... How did we even meet again? Oh yeah, I rescued you from your asshole parents after they kicked you out."

"Hey! Only I can call my parents assholes, because that's a fact!"

* * *

"Holy shit," good Homura said. "I'm surprised the police haven't been knocking on your door, Mami."

"Whatever trouble I may put me and Nagisa in at my place is still infinitely better than her old home situation. Wanna get into detail on how Nagisa came to live with me?" Mami then facepalmed and said, "I swear to God, we're gonna have more flashbacks than actual fights by the time this is done!"


	3. Part 3: Devious Smiles

_20 days before the story began_

Mami had had a rough time. She had just broken up with her boyfriend of 2 years and wondered how long she could continue to live alone in an apartment.

On that night, she was out on witch patrol when she spotted a young girl with white hair shaking and shivering in the cold night. She also appeared to be crying. Mami called out, "Are you okay?" The girl turned to her and said nothing. Mami then ran over when she noticed that she had several bruises on her face. "You seem a little hurt there, kiddo. Where do you live?"

"They... They took it..." She shivered not from cold, but in fear.

Then, Mami noticed she had a rapidly darkening soul gem. "What?! You're a magical girl?! We need to get you a grief seed!"

"The witches took my home," the young girl said. "But they're not the witches I fight with magic... They're my mom and dad."

"Mom and dad?" Mami then paused. "Alright, come with me. You'll be safe with me. I got a spare seed at my apartment." She then picked her up and noticed cigar burns on her forehead. "Ouch. Who did this to you?"

"Daddy did it," the girl replied. She then began to wrap her arms around Mami, trying desperately to get warm.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Momoe Nagisa," the girl replied. "I'm 12 years old."

"You don't deserve this, kid. You'll be safe with me. Trust me. Why did you get kicked out?"

"Mommy and daddy fought again and they kicked me out."

Mami took a deep breath and thought, _"At least your parents are still alive, regardless if they're assholes." _"You can stay with me as long as you want, Nagisa."

"Thank you..."

* * *

"And that's how I ended up raising Nagisa," Mami said to finish the flashback. "Pretty crazy, right?"

Madoka turned to Nagisa and said, "Oh my God, I am so sorry. I had no idea..."

Nagisa simply replied, "Sorry for what? You did nothing wrong."

Then, good Homura said, "Quiet! I think I hear something!" As the group listened, they thought they heard someone counting something in a different language. Good Homura whispered, "Is that the bad Homura?"

As it turns out, it was. By now, she had drawn pictures of each victim she had killed. Now that the drawings were finished, she smiled as she began counting and said, "Eins. Zwei. Drei. Vier. Fünf. Sechs. Sieben. Acht. Das lässt 6,999,999,991 mehr Opfer." Bad Homura then laughed.

Madoka said, "I'm scared. She was chanting something in German."

"She said she has 6,999,999,991 more victims to go," Mami said. "She ain't fucking around. She's willing to kill everybody but you, Madoka."

Madoka began to cry from fear. Good Homura hugged her and said, "Don't be scared. Everything will be alright."

Then, everyone heard running footsteps nearby. "Police! Come out with your hands up!"

Bad Homura replied by gunning down 6 heavily-armed police officers, killing all of them.

Sayaka's eyes shot wide open and her expression turned from that of worry into pure fear as she said, "No way... This... This is true evil..."

"That's fucking it," Mami said. "I'm ending this fucking bullshit right now." She then used her ribbons to spawn a musket. "All I gotta do is aim this gun at this psycho and she'll be going straight to hell where she belongs."

"Mami! Don't!" Good Homura tried to grab onto Mami to get her to stop, but Mami refused.

"I'll do what I must, God damn it!" She then fired a single round at bad Homura, striking her in the shoulder. She then got up and returned fire with a SPAS-12, hitting Mami in the right eye with birdshot. "Agh shit!" Mami fell back as the round hit her. Good Homura immediately took out a Beretta pistol and returned fire, finally hitting bad Homura in her soul gem, killing her.

"I got her! I got her!" Good Homura immediately ran over to where bad Homura had fallen as the rest of the team attended to Mami's injuries, expecting to find that the battle was finally over. Instead, when she leaned over to see what had become of the bad Homura's body, she screamed.

It was rapidly decaying into a black mass with deformed facial features and long, bony hands and fingers. Good Homura ran back as the black mass finally took full human form. It said, "I am still the devil, and nobody can stop me!"

As 2 police officers rushed Mami and the rest of Madoka's family away to safety, the rest of the group got ready to fight the entity. Eventually, a portal formed, sucking the entity and the team into another dimension. It would be here where the final battle was to take place.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, as police rushed into the building to secure it, the horrified screams of spectators drew their attention to another being, this time in the sky.

It was a giant upside-down humanoid creature that constantly laughed in a mocking tone.

A police officer said, "What the hell is that thing?!"

A voice from the crowd then said, "Walpurgisnacht!" It was a girl with long, black hair, a large hat, and carrying a cross-shaped staff. Eventually, several other girls emerged from the crowd beside her. The girl said, "Ready?"

Everyone in the group then shouted, "Let's go!"

6 of the girls focused on wearing down Walpurgisnacht with numerous attacks of various types. As the crowd below watched in amazement, the giant witch was slowly weakened by the attacks. Surprisingly, it seemingly didn't bring along any familiars this time.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the portal dimension, the black entity said, "You see, I created this universe so that I could be the one in control, so that I could protect Madoka on my own terms. I ultimately decided to also implant some other magical girls from past timelines to help mess around with you idiots. Hopefully, you all would end up killing each other, and I could have Madoka all for myself."

Homura replied, "You heartless bitch! You don't know what love is! You don't love Madoka at all! You're just a selfish bully who would let the world burn if it was somehow for Madoka's sake!"

Madoka said, "Love?! What's going on?!"

"Oh really, other me? You don't love Madoka!"

"Like hell I don't!" Homura got really angry. "Unlike you, I treat her like an actual fucking human being instead of a weakling who can't stand up for herself! Sure, I may take things a bit too far, but at least I don't go against Madoka's wishes!"

The entity got so angry it sent out an arm of black mist that grabbed Homura up. It then said, "You take that back, or else!"

"Or else what?!"

"Or else I'll kill you!"

Homura then took a deep breath. "Fine. Kill me if you want. But let me talk to Madoka first."

"Fine. I might as well."

Homura then turned to Madoka. "Madoka-chan... I've had feelings for you for a long time. Even if I've only known this incarnation of you for mere minutes or hours, I want you to know that I've fought to protect you countless times."

Madoka screamed, **"Homura! Don't do it!"**

"If I have to die so that you may live, so be it. But I refuse to die without getting to tell you how I feel first. Kaname Madoka, **I LOVE YOU!"**

Then, the entity squeezed Homura until she exploded, splattering blood and guts all over the place. Madoka screamed, **"HOMURA!"**

Nagisa said, "Oh my God..."

Sayaka angrily said, "How... How could you?"

* * *

Back outside, Walpurgisnacht had been successfully weakened. Now the team could focus on killing the witch and saving the city. A girl with glasses said using a radio, "Kazumi, you ready?!"

"All ready to go," Kazumi replied. "Saki, Kaoru, Umika, Mirai, Satomi, Niko, this will be our most dangerous battle yet. We need to trap this witch in, and then I can destroy it with the magic beams. I wish all of you good luck. Let's give this witch hell, guys."

Saki then said, "Thank you. PUELLAE LEAD THE WAY!"

6 of the girls, apart from Kazui, then shouted, "EPISODIO INCROCIO!" This was a powerful joint binding spell that constricted Walpurgisnacht's movements.

Finally, Kazumi said, "LIMITI ESTERNI!" A massive beam of light flew from Kazumi into Walpurgisnacht. After 15 seconds, the witch finally blew up. Kazumi shouted, "We did it!"

As the 7 girls descended back to the ground, Saki radioed, "Guys, we still have an army of familiars nearby we need to take care of."

Umika replied, "I think there's about 50 of them all huddled in one particular area near the port."

Kaoru replied, "They're gonna be dead meat. Let's go over there and kick their asses."

Saki said, "Agreed. Let's roll out!"

* * *

Back in the other dimension, Nagisa said, "Enough is enough! I've had it with this killing! Everybody strap in! I'm gonna tear down this barrier or whatever this is!" She then fired barrier-cracking bubbles that would damage the stability of the dimension. As they hit the outer walls of the dimension, the surrounding sky began to glitch up like a computer.

Sayaka then charged at the entity with a cutlass, but she was knocked to the ground, landing in some of Homura's blood. "God damn you!"

Madoka then said, "Stop! I can't take this anymore..." As tears began to fall from her face, she said, "I... I wish to make a contract!"

Immediately, Kyubey appeared. "Finally," he said. "What do you wish for?"

"I... I heard that you can only grant so much up to how much potential someone has, right? How much do I have?"

"Limitless, actually. You could wish for anything you want, except more wishes."

Nagisa shouted, "WISH FOR SOME GENIES TO GRANT YOU MORE WISHES!"

"No... Instead... I wish... I wish to bring the Homura that was killed here back from the dead and into her original form before she was killed."

"As in her original body before-?"

"Yes!"

Kyubey's ears then extended to Madoka's chest. "Your wish has been granted." Kyubey then extracted Madoka's soul, an extremely painful process that caused Madoka to scream and go unconscious from the pain. "Huh... That's odd... It's painful, but never that painful... Well, when you wake up, your soul gem will be right here next to you, Madoka. All I gotta do is now resurrect the other Homura as she was before she pretty much exploded."

When Madoka woke up, Homura said, "Madoka, what did you do?! Madoka!"

"Homura! You're alive!" Madoka then hugged her. "I contracted with Kyubey to bring you back."

"You... You contracted..."

The entity said, "NOOOO! YOU FOOLS! DON'T YOU REALISE WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE?!"

"I know full well what I just did! I just sealed your defeat!" Madoka then transformed and pulled out a bow and arrow, aiming it at the entity. "Prepare to die!"

* * *

After destroying the 50 familiars, the Pleiades Saints were welcomed with a loud applause by the crowd. Saki shouted, "Thank you! Thank you! Whenever this city or its neighbours are in danger of mass destruction, you can count on us being there to help! PUELLAE LEAD THE WAY!" The 7 girls then disappeared.

The police commander at the scene then got a frantic radio message over the air. "Team 10 to Command, the 3rd floor is enveloped in a black substance! It's not smoke!"

"Then get off the 3rd floor!"

"Message received! Everybody, avoid the 3rd floor! It's too dangerous up there!"

* * *

Madoka fired 2 flaming arrows at the entity, who said, "You really think 2 burning arrows are gonna kill me?!"

"Nope. But the explosives will."

"What explo-?!" The 2 arrows then exploded, killing the entity for good and causing the dimension to begin to collapse.

Homura said, "Everybody, let's get outta here! The exit's this way! Hurry up!"

The 5 of them managed to jump out in the nick of time. As they landed on the floor in the real world, the darkness surrounding them began to evaporate as the dimension finally collapsed in on itself.

As the team caught their breath, Nagisa said, "That was amazing, Madoka-chan!"

Sayaka hugged Madoka, saying, "Welcome to the team, Madoka! The 3 of them then laughed.

Homura then said, "Madoka, I didn't want you making a contract. You know what happens when Walpurgisnacht appears, right?"

"Uhhhh..." Sayaka scratched her head. "I think that was supposed to be today, Homura, based on what you said to us."

"Shit!" She then looked at the clock. "If it's today... It should have already been here..."

Then, Kyousuke's phone got a news alert. "Woah! It says here that 7 mysterious girls fought a giant monster in the sky and killed it."

"Let me see," Homura said. "Oh my God, that's Walpurgisnacht! Wait... I know who those girls are... They're the Pleiades Saints! Looks like my bad self wasn't joking when she said she brought some old people around to this universe. Speaking of that, have you guys ever heard of 2 girls named Oriko and Kirika?"

"Oh yeah," Sayaka said. "They attacked Mami and Nagisa. I ended up going over to assist and killed one of them. They're both dead now."

"Good. They're magical girls who went rogue and try to kill other magical girls."

"Wow... That's bad." Madoka then got up. "Let's go see how Mami-san and my family are doing."

Kyousuke helped Sayaka up and said, "You did great out there."

"Of course." The 2 then kissed.

Homura said, "Wait... You 2 are dating?"

Sayaka replied, "Yeah?"

"I'm surprised. Then again, considering that Kyoko's dead..."

"Let me guess," Kyousuke said. "She and Kyoko date in other timelines?"

"No, but they get very close to doing so sometimes."

* * *

_20 days later_

By now, the Pleiades Saints and the gang had enjoyed generally good relations, sometimes assisting each other for big jobs. Still, the Saints remained rather mysterious to the rest of the group. Homura especially didn't trust them.

Tonight, Homura and Madoka were going to go out to see a movie. As the 2 walked to the theatre, Homura said, "Hey Madoka, have you ever wondered about the Saints?"

"Yeah, I guess," Madoka replied. "Why do you ask?"

"A magical girl named Akane Sumire recently disappeared in Asunaro a few days ago. When I try to talk about it to Saki, their leader, she always gets really nervous, as if she knows something about what's going on but won't tell us."

"That does seem suspicious," Madoka replied. "After the movie, let's go to Wakaba Mirai's place. I have her number. She's a really nice girl."

"Alright."

* * *

_3 hours later_

Homura and Madoka had called Mirai, asking her if they could see her. Mirai said yes.

Mirai greeted them outside her museum, which was gaining popularity in the area. "Hello, Kaname-san and Akemi-san. What movie did you see?"

"We saw Star Wars Episode 9," Madoka replied. "It was one of the best movies I've ever seen."

"Nice," Mirai replied. "I'll let you in. We closed an hour ago, but I'll let you slide since you're damn good at fighting witches."

"Why thank you," Homura replied. After Mirai opened the doors and turned on the lights, she said, "So you made all these stuffed animals by yourself?"

"Indeed I did," Mirai replied.

"I am impressed," Homura said. "These bears are higher quality then what you'll find in a store. Much higher quality."

"I know. I try to strive to do that."

Madoka then said, "Anyway, do you know what happened to Akane Sumire?"

Mirai turned around and looked at her in fear. She then said, "No, I don't."

"Are you sure?" Homura then whispered to Madoka. "Should we use some force?"

"No!" Madoka objected to Homura. "At least, not yet."

"I am sure, Akemi Homura." Mirai's tone changed from fear to denial. "I never even knew who she was until recently when she disappeared."

"Okay then. By the way, what does that basement door lead to?"

"I'm not telling you. That's secret."

Madoka said, "Homura, come on."

Homura then flashed a gun from behind her shield and said, "I'm giving you one chance to tell me what happened to Sumire. If you don't tell me the truth, and I know when you lie, I will kill you." She then pointed the gun at her. "Tell me... NOW!"

Mirai began to shiver in fear as she said, "Uhhh..."

Homura then marched up to her and slammed her against a wall, "Fucking answer me!"

"Fine!" Mirai then began to cry. "The Saints killed her. They killed Sumire. I saw them do it and helped get rid of the body. It's downstairs. If I let you show it, please don't tell the rest of them I did. I don't wanna die!"

"Thank you." Madoka and Homura then walked to the basement and turned on a light. What they saw made Madoka scream and Homura throw up.

It was a long, hall-way like room filled with tons of liquid-filled tubes carrying numerous girls, including Akane Sumire. Homura stormed back upstairs in anger. Mirai said, "What's wrong?"

Homura then punched her in the hose, breaking it, before dragging her downstairs. "Tell me what the everloving fuck is all of THIS?! What have you assholes been doing to these girls?! Why do you keep them like cattle?!"

"Agh... You broke my damn nose!"

"I don't give a shit if I broke your nose or any other bone in your pathetic body! Answer me!"

"Fine! If you want your answers so goddamn bad, I'll tell you!" She then took a deep breath. "The Pleiades Saints lost one of our most skilled and beloved members a long time ago. Her name was Kazusa Michiru. We were desperate to save her, so we began to create clones of her. Kazumi was her nickname. The current Kazumi is the 13th clone of her."

"So you kidnapped innocent girls for this? Why?!"

"Because Michiru-chan wasn't killed in action. She turned into a witch! We've been harvesting soul gems to figure out how to prevent this."

Madoka said, "Turned into a witch?! Homura, do you know this?!"

"It's the truth! Oriko and Kirika have killed magical girls because they wanted to end their suffering! Your friends would have been their 7th, 8th, and 9th victims!"

Homura yelled, "Shut the fuck up, Mirai! I never wanted Madoka to know of this because she could end up like Mami!"

"What do you mean?" Madoka began to cry. "What happened to Mami-san?"

"Ugh... You see, in a past timeline, after Sayaka turned into a witch, Mami went crazy and tried to kill all of us. After that, I swore to never tell the full truth about magical girls unless I absolutely had to."

"How? How do you turn into one of those things?!"

"Wanna know why you need grief seeds to keep your soul gem clean? Because if you don't keep it clean, it will turn black, and if it turns black, you will turn into a witch. That's why you need to keep a constant stream of grief seeds in store, or else you won't last long. I've harvested hundreds of unused grief seeds, so if you or any of your friends desperately need one, I can hook you up with a few. Additionally, familiars can turn into witches if they break free of their barriers and wander around in the open long enough. A majority of witches around here are actually familiar-born, probably from stray familiars of Walpurgisnacht."

Mirai then shouted, "Now you know why we must commit these murders! We do it to keep ourselves alive!"

"Shut up already!" Homura got really angry. "You can't! All you can do is get grief seeds and manage to live as long as you can! Stop trying to solve an unsolvable problem and kill girls in the process!"

"Hey Mirai-chan," Saki called. "The team got your distress message. What's wro-?" Saki stopped dead in her tracks when she found Mirai, Madoka, and Homura in the basement. "What's going on?! Why did you let those 2 into the basement?!"

Homura shouted, "You little bitch!" She then pulled out a gun and shot Saki in the stomach, causing her to fall to the floor, just barely missing the water below.

"Saki-chan," Mirai exclaimed. "No! Nooo!"


End file.
